A part of the sentence is underlined. Choose the alternative that best improves the underlined part. If no improvement is needed, select the option indicating no improvement. Jane had told me that she has not done her homework.

Introduction / Context:

This question tests your understanding of tense consistency in reported speech or indirect speech. The sentence combines a reporting verb and a reported clause about homework. Examinations often check whether candidates can correctly choose between past simple, past perfect, present simple, and progressive forms when one action in the past is reported from another point in time.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Original sentence: Jane had told me that she has not done her homework.
• The underlined part is had told.
• Options: told, tells, was telling, no improvement.
• We assume that the speaker is narrating a past situation in a natural conversational context.

Concept / Approach:

In reported speech, the tense of the reporting verb and the tense of the reported clause must be logically related. Past perfect is used mainly when one past event happened before another past reference point. Using past perfect without a clear later reference time often sounds unnecessary. In everyday English, we prefer the simple past told when simply narrating something that happened earlier. We also need to consider that the present perfect has not done in the reported clause already indicates an effect that continues to the present, making further complication by past perfect in the reporting verb less natural.

Step-by-Step Solution:

Verification / Alternative check:

Compare Jane told me that she has not done her homework with Jane had told me that she has not done her homework. The simple past told sounds natural as a single punctual past action. The past perfect had told without a clear later time reference makes the sentence sound over complicated. Grammar references often state that past perfect is used only when necessary to show one past action occurred before another past moment. That condition is missing here, so simple past is preferred.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

Tells is wrong because it puts the reporting verb in the present, which clashes with the general past time setting of the statement.

Was telling is wrong because it suggests an incomplete or interrupted action and does not fit the structure of this sentence.

No improvement is wrong because the original use of past perfect had told is not the most appropriate or natural choice without a later reference point in the past.

Common Pitfalls:

Many learners think that reported speech always demands complicated tenses like past perfect. In reality, simple past is often enough. Another pitfall is to ignore the context and mechanically choose no improvement because the sentence seems acceptable on a quick reading. In competitive examinations, you must look for the option that is grammatically sound and stylistically more natural.

Final Answer:

The underlined part should be improved to told.